Pattern of Testicular Atrophy in Bilateral Orchidectomy Specimens from Patients with Advanced Prostate Cancer

Abstract

Introduction: One of the palliative treatment modalities for advanced prostate cancer (Pca) is bilateral Orchidectomy. Histopathological analysis of submitted Orchidectomy specimens may display normal to various grades of testicular atrophy. Advancing age may be related to testicular atrophy as well as pre-treatment with luteinizing hormone releasing hormone agonist [LHRH(a)], drugs and chronic illnesses. We retrospectively examined results of Orchidectomy specimens submitted for histopathological analysis. Materials and Methods: Bilateral orchidectomy specimen results of twenty seven (27) patients diagnosed with Pca were retrospectively studied. Their clinical information and ancillary laboratory results were retrieved. Of the 27 patients, two (7.4%) patients had no prior treatments for Pca, while twenty patients (74.1%) and five patients (18.5%) had prior exposure to anti-androgens and LHRH(a) respectively. In the histo-analysis, the specimens were graded from normal to various degrees of atrophy. Data collated were analyzed using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 20.0 software. Results: The mean age of all patients was 68.52±7.266 years, ranging from 51-87 years. Mean PSA was 59.811+38.84ng/ml, while mean Gleason score was 8.30+8.69. On the whole, 3 patients (11.1%) had normal testes, 16 patients (59.3%) and 8 patients (29.6%) respectively had mild and moderate grades of testicular atrophy. Age correlated positively with the grades of atrophy. Conclusion: Degree of testicular atrophy is widely noted to correlate with age and depends less on pre-treatment in the setting of advanced prostate cancer.